His Fiancée, My Revenge

My cousin, who had bullied me and looked down on me since we were kids, came home with his beautiful wife-to-be, Claire. What he didn’t know was that Claire was a hostess I’d once spent a wild night with. I hadn’t planned to expose her past. But after my cousin tore up the clothes I’d bought for my parents in front of everyone, I decided to get even. At dinner that evening, I quietly told Claire: “You wouldn’t want my cousin finding out about your past, would you?” Honk! A long blast of a car horn made me look up. An Audi was coming down the narrow road outside our house. It slowed as it approached, then stopped right outside. The window slid down. Dance music pounded so loudly it seemed to shake the entire car. A man in sunglasses looked over at me. “Hey, Ethan! You’re home! When did you get back?” I froze for a moment. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. Before I could answer, my parents heard someone talking to me and came outside. The moment Dad saw the man, he smiled. “Derek! Come on in.” That was when it hit me. The man in front of me was my cousin, Derek Miller. The same guy who had bullied me and looked down on me all through my childhood. Derek smiled at Dad. “Can’t right now. I’m heading into town for groceries. Everyone’s waiting on me to get dinner started.” “Oh, and you, your wife, and Ethan should come over tonight. You and my dad can have a few drinks.” Before Dad could respond, Derek turned to me. “We haven’t seen each other in years, Ethan. You’d better be there!” Without giving us a chance to refuse, he rolled up the window and drove off. My parents watched his car disappear and began talking quietly. “Derek really has made something of himself. That car must have cost a fortune.” There was a hint of envy in Dad’s voice as he replied: “Yeah. I hear he makes several thousand a month.” “He brought his new girlfriend home this time, too. They’re talking to his parents about getting married.” “And she really is beautiful.” When we were kids, Derek had been the ringleader of all the children in our small town. Being my cousin hadn’t made him look out for me. Instead, he’d joined the others in picking on me. Back in school, they always stole every snack I had. School was a long way from home. Money was tight, but my parents still gave me a dollar every day. I never made it to school with it. At first, Derek hadn’t dared take it himself, so he’d gotten the other kids to do it. Later, he’d simply robbed me himself. If I fought back, they beat me up. Then they threatened to beat me every time they saw me if I told my parents. Back then, he was my worst nightmare. I finally made it to high school, only to find myself at the same school as him again. Like most teenagers, I developed an interest in dating and got myself a girlfriend. Within days, she threw herself at Derek. He’d stolen practically my entire youth.Now I had a college degree, but all I’d managed to get was an administrative job at a small company. I made three thousand a month and lived paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, the guy who had bullied me since childhood drove a luxury car, earned far more than I did, and had a gorgeous girlfriend. Mom suddenly sighed. “When will our Ethan start making good money like Derek and bring home a pretty girlfriend?” There wasn’t much I could say. Before coming home, I’d known my parents would nag me about settling down. Now that Derek was back, I could only imagine how much worse it would get. “Should I still make dinner,” Mom asked Dad, “or are we going over there?” “Don’t bother cooking. We’re still Derek’s family. If he’s planning to get married, we should go and offer some advice.” Of course, I didn’t want to go. But then I thought about it. If I stayed home, Derek would assume I was jealous and bitter. Maybe acting completely indifferent would annoy him more. So I decided to go with my parents that evening. It was only dinner. I could eat and leave. Whatever. The sky was beginning to darken. Once again, Derek’s horn sounded outside our house. My parents and I went out, and he waved us into the car. What a show-off. His house was less than a ten-minute walk from ours. He was obviously just looking for another excuse to flaunt his car. I took the front passenger seat. He immediately turned to me with a smile. “It’s been years, Ethan. Where are you working these days?” “I do admin for a company,” I said evenly. “How much a month?” “Not much. Nothing compared to you.” He laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll get there. I work in the same city, so come find me if you ever need anything. If I can help, I will.” His polite little speech was nothing more than another excuse to show off. I thanked him and didn’t bother keeping the conversation going. We reached his house in less than five minutes. A crowd of relatives and friends was already there. Our arrival barely caused a ripple. After getting out, I found a quiet corner, sat down, and took out my phone. All around me, people were talking about how successful Derek was and how beautiful his girlfriend was. At last, it was time to eat. I immediately found a seat, planning to grab a few bites and head home. Then a relative beside me suddenly said: “That’s Derek’s girlfriend? She really is gorgeous. He’s a lucky man.” I looked up, curious to see just how beautiful my future cousin-in-law was. But the moment I got a clear look at the woman standing beside Derek, chatting and laughing with everyone, I froze. Big eyes, a delicate nose, a stunning figure. She really was a knockout. But the more I looked at her, the more familiar she seemed. I was certain I’d seen her somewhere before.I searched my memory. Suddenly, I remembered a night three years earlier. It had been my first day at my current company, right after graduation. A college friend and I had rented a two-bedroom apartment together. After buying everything we needed, we had a little over a thousand dollars left between us. We bought some snacks and beer and drank in our apartment to celebrate starting our careers and this new chapter of our lives. After a few rounds, when we were both a little tipsy, my roommate suggested going out. One wild night before we settled down and focused on work. Fueled by alcohol, I somehow agreed. First we went to a bar, then booked a hotel room. After that, my roommate found two women from who knew where. He put his arm around one and headed to another hotel, leaving the other woman alone with me. That woman was the very same person who was about to marry my cousin. We spent a wild night together in that hotel room. By morning, the room was a mess. I assumed my roommate had picked both women up at the bar. Then, the next morning, she took the five hundred dollars I’d left beside the bed and walked out. Only then did I realize the woman I’d spent the night with was a paid hostess. And now, here she was, about to become part of my family. Once I remembered, the dark cloud hanging over me vanished. Derek would never dream that the cousin he’d bullied and despised had already spent a wild night with his fiancée. What would all these friends and relatives think if they knew what she used to do? Honestly, even after realizing who she was, I had no intention of using it to get back at Derek. After all, most of that had happened when we were kids. I was actually worried she might recognize me. I lowered my head and pretended to focus on my phone. But Derek apparently had other ideas. As though determined to show her off to me, he got everyone seated, then brought her straight toward my table. My heart pounded. I didn’t dare look up. To my surprise, he first squeezed out a few children sitting beside me. Then he had her sit next to me and took a seat himself. “What’s with you, Ethan? You’ve been staring at your phone since you got here.” “Keep that up, and I’m not letting you off easy tonight. We’re having a few drinks.” “Come on, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Claire Bennett. Soon to be my wife.” There was no getting out of it. I braced myself and prayed she’d met enough men to have forgotten someone as insignificant as me. I forced myself to look up at them. “Hi, Claire. I’m Ethan.” “Hi, Ethan…” No such luck. The instant Claire saw my face, her smile froze. Panic, disbelief, and even a trace of fear crossed her face. Derek noticed something was off. “What’s wrong?” Claire quickly turned to him. “Nothing, honey. Why didn’t you tell me you had such a handsome cousin?” The corner of my mouth lifted. I knew she was trying to confirm whether I was the man she’d spent that night with. Derek laughed. “Handsome, my ass. He doesn’t look a tenth as good as me. What kind of taste do you have?” He sounded like he was joking, but the contempt on his face was obvious. Claire ignored him and looked back at me, her eyes uneasy again. “Where do you work, Ethan?” There it was. I didn’t hide it. “New York.” The moment she heard that, she froze again and fell silent. Derek leaned toward me once more. “Well, Ethan? Your future cousin-in-law is gorgeous, right?” “She has plenty of single friends. I’ll have her introduce you sometime. None of them are as pretty as her, though!” I smiled. “You’re a lucky guy, Derek. I’m not that fortunate. But don’t worry about setting me up. After all…” Before I could finish, something brushed my foot under the table. I glanced down. It was Claire’s long leg, covered in sheer black tights. I looked at her. Her eyes were pleading, and a sudden rush went through me.